A Rose By Any Other Name
by Tissaia de Vries
Summary: Did you ever wonder why on Earth would Chuck and Sarah name their son Bryce? Prequel to Of Robots and Humans, more or less.


**Disclaimer:** I still don't own _Chuck_. I couldn't get it in one day.

**Author's Note:** I wrote this in five minutes (OK, ten minutes), inspired by all the people that think Bryce is the last name Chuck and Sarah would choose for their baby. No, people, that's _Shaw_. Bryce was still their friend and one of the good guys. It's weird, but not that weird. Thanks for the reviews, by the way, you're the best, guys

* * *

Sarah glanced at the newly born in her arms and added an extra touch of protectiveness to the way she was cradling him.

"Bryce?" she whispered.

"I've thought we should give our son his name," Chuck said and mustered a sheepish smile as he balanced on the balls of his feet.

"But I thought we decided to call him Stephen, like your father."

"Yes, yes, I know." Chuck shrugged, as if something was strangling him and he wanted to get rid of it. "And we still can, as a middle name. But we should call the baby Bryce, as a first name."

Sarah was still tired and a bit stunned with the entire process that ended up with a nurse putting a mini human —all pink and sticky and wrinkly— in her arms. "Why?" she got to ask.

Chuck extended a hand in a conciliatory manner and approached the bed. "Hear me out, OK? Just a minute."

He sat down next to her, then looked at the child. His entire demeanor changed to complete awe and he just stared in total silence. Sarah also looked at their baby, who was resting peacefully after the apparently exhausting task of being born. He was just a perfect miniature with blond strands in his tiny head. She still couldn't believe she had done this.

"I want it to be Bryce," Chuck said when he recovered his voice, "because somewhat, this baby is here thanks to him. We _met _thanks to him."

Sarah didn't have a recollection of that, of course. Her memory was faulty. There were passages from the five years Quinn made her forgot that she had no problems remembering, but there were still many and deep holes. The last thing she remembered was a conversation with Bryce in Washington. She remembered how troubled he seemed, how he made her promise again she would spray his ashes in Lisbon if anything happened to him. And after that, her last memory was Bryce dead: his eyes open, his back resting on the white wall of that white room, his shirt covered in blood.

"We had history together, Bryce and I," Chuck went on. "I know I had my differences and issues with him, but he was my best friend at college."

"And my ex," Sarah pointed out. Even if she never told Carina, Bryce and she had decided to take a break before Sarah went to Hungary. That she remembered.

Chuck grimaced. "It's weird, yes. But… even with all of that…" He sighed. "He was a good man and a good spy. He tried to do the best thing, to prevent the bad guys from winning. He was a hero, Sarah, and nobody knows this. He died as a hero and nobody knows it. Not even his family." Chuck traced the baby's face with his index finger. "I would want to unite the two men whose lives were destroyed by the Intersect."

"That sounds like bad omen."

"You taught me there was no curse in my family, I'm trying to expunge it the Father Merrin way, I guess."

Sarah gulped and averted her eyes, as every time somebody mentioned an event she didn't remember. She opter for a change of subject, as usual. "And why not Stephen Bryce?"

"Because it sounds awful."

"Not much more than Bryce Stephen."

"I like the sonority of Bryce Stephen." Chuck did a gesture with his hand, as if he were trying to twirl the air. His face contorted suddenly at the sight of her. "But if you don't like it… You think it's the worst idea ever, right?"

Sarah looked at the baby and pondered his words. She tried to imagine different situation where she called this name. She tried to convey what she felt calling the child Bryce.

"Of course you think it's awful," Chuck said, turning into babbling mode. "What were I thinking? I'm sure it's because Casey's always pestering me about 'Steve being a silly name' only suitable for morons and prison guards—"

Sarah grabbed one of his arms to silence him. "No, it's… Are you sure, Chuck?"

"I don't know, am I?" He squinted at her. "What do you think?

"Well, I… I don't hate the name or the man who carried it, even if he was quite arrogant and insufferable." Sarah inhaled sharply, sometimes sudden memories made her feel dizzy. "And I remember Bryce more than I remember your father, truth be told." She lowered her gaze, aware of how she sounded. "But it's your _father_."

"And I loved him and he's always in my heart, but I had other things to remember him by. Bryce's name seems forgotten, erased even from the official records. That's not fair. He sacrificed himself and in turn, I found my destiny." He beamed. "And you."

Sarah found herself smiling with him before she was aware of what she was doing. Then she stared at the resting baby. By Chuck's logic, their meeting was Bryce's doing. Maybe they owned him something. On the other hand, maybe naming their child after him could annoy Bryce to no end. It was a win-win scenario. "Bryce," she murmured.

"Or we could call him Jack," Chuck said on a whim.

"No, Bryce it is."

So when the rest of the Bartowski/Walker family — which included Casey and daughter, plus Gertrude Verbanski for some reason— visited them in the hospital room, a proud Chuck scooped up his son and announced: "Guys, meet Bryce Stephen Bartowski."

"Bryce, really?" come the general murmur, at the same time that Casey said "It's better than Steve." The consensus was puzzlement. Except in the case of Verbanski, who began to laugh.

The rest gawked at her.

"Bryce Stephen Bartowski." She said as only explanation, then guffawed. "BS Bartowski."

* * *

PS: And just if you're wondering, yes, they called him Bryce Stephen Bartowski. Something that annoys him to no end. But that's another story, just like "Of How Bryce Saved The World When Everybody Was Having A Nap," "The Fantabulous Adventures of Bryce and His Sister and Their Time Machine", or "The Epic Saga of Molly, the Hungarian Heiress."


End file.
